"I never gave up, those who did, died."

Master Sergeant John Walter Cutler was born on 27 Dec 1896 in Osage, Iowa. He died on 21 Sep 1959 in San Diego, California and is buried there at the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.

MSgt Cutler saw service in North Russia during 1918 and 1919. During WW II he was on Corregidor during the 29 Dec 1942 Japanese attack, following which he survived the Bataan Death March and imprisonment in various Japanese POW Camps.

Walter, as he was known in his hometown, began his military career in 1916 when he joined the National Guard. By July 1918 he was a Sergeant in Company D of the 339th Infantry Regiment, 85th Division when they headed overseas to fight in the Great War. While enroute to England, the 339th was given new orders that resulted in their deployment to North Russia, where they formed the main element of the American North Russia Expeditionary Force (ANREF).

Originally charged with guarding war materiel in Archangel, upon their 04 Sep 1918 arrival the ANREF officers were told by their British commanders that the warehouses had been stripped clean by the retreating Bolshevik Red Army and were ordered to chase and engage them as they fled south. The ANREF soldiers quickly found themselves active participants in the Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil war. After nine months of fighting and losing 230 of their comrades to battle and disease, they were withdrawn and returned to the United States in June of 1919. Upon their return, the 5,170 ANREF veterans proudly wore a Polar Bear patch on their left shoulder.

Unlike most of his fellow "Polar Bears" who were immediately discharged and returned to civilian life, Sgt. Cutler decided to re-enlist. Because he wanted to be stationed in the Philippine Islands, he switched from Infantry to Ordnance and took a reduction in rank to Private. He was sent to Corregidor Island but soon transferred to Manila.

Following his discharge in Oct. 1922, he worked as a machinist in New Mexico for four years before deciding to reenlist again. His first tour of duty was served with the 15th Infantry in the Philippines. He had subsequent assignments in the States and the Philippines, receiving a promotion to Master Sergeant in Feb. 1942.

Once again he found himself on Corregidor and was fortunate to survive the Dec. 29, 1942 Japanese bombings. His unit withdrew to Bataan where they were captured by the Japanese on April 9th. MSgt Cutler survived the Bataan Death March, losing 50 pounds along the way. He then spent 40 months as a Prisoner of War at camps in the Philippines, Korea and finally the Hoten POW Camp in Mukden, Manchuria, where he was liberated by Russian troops on Aug. 20, 1945. His name is listed on page 18 of this PDF, which is a 10 Nov 1944 roster of the Hoten POW Camp.

When interviewed during a return to his hometown in Dec. 1945, he said of his experience as a POW, "I never gave up, those who did, died."

John W Cutler